


After Dawn

by Sauronix



Series: Nix's Tumblr Fics [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Flash Fic, Gladio Comforts Ignis, Hugs, M/M, Post-Game, Tumblr Prompt, dealing with death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:10:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauronix/pseuds/Sauronix
Summary: “Come here, Iggy.” Gladio’s arms go around him, turning Ignis to cry against his broad chest. Clearly, he didn’t bother to put on a shirt after getting out of bed. The skin under Ignis’s cheek is warm and soft, and Gladio smells like the cheap shower gel they found in the caravan bathroom. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”A flash fic in response to the prompt "things you said while I was crying."





	After Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This was my response to the prompt "things you said while I was crying" [on Tumblr](https://sauronix.tumblr.com/), given to me by the lovely Ventus/Valefor.

Heat the skillet. Add butter.

Scrub the potatoes. Slice them.

Toss them in the butter. Let fry.

By now, they’re rote actions, steps in one of the dozens of recipes Ignis knows by heart. The cutting motions he makes with the knife are almost mechanical. The sizzle of potato flesh in the pan is like white noise, quieting the mental anguish that hasn’t let him sleep in nearly three days. This is what he needs this morning.

The mundane.

The familiar.

A routine to take his mind off his aching eyeballs, and the dry, paper-thin skin around them. Getting breakfast ready in this caravan takes him back to the days when things were good. It makes him feel useful. Needed. When he’s occupying himself with doing things for Gladio and Prompto, he stops thinking about—

About—

The spatula he was holding clatters into the sink. He grips the edge of the counter, head bowed, as a sob escapes him, like a wild, starving animal bursting from a cage. _Noct is gone. Noct is never coming back_. The pain of knowing that is so great, he’s barely aware of the bedroom door sliding open, and of Gladio’s bare feet padding across the peeling linoleum toward him.

“Come here, Iggy.” Gladio’s arms go around him, turning Ignis to cry against his broad chest. Clearly, he didn’t bother to put on a shirt after getting out of bed. The skin under Ignis’s cheek is warm and soft, and Gladio smells like the cheap shower gel they found in the caravan bathroom. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Gladio hushes him, his hand rubbing a lazy circle on Ignis’s back. Being held doesn’t make it any better, but Ignis feels less alone. Gladio hasn’t cried—not since that night they sat together around the campfire for the last time—but he understands. Ignis can hear it in the rough edge of his voice, every time he speaks. Can feel it in the arms looped around him, so firm and yet so gentle, holding Ignis like it’s the only thing tethering Gladio to this world.

They remain in each other’s embrace until Ignis’s tears turn to sniffles, and his shuddering breaths return to a normal cadence. Only then do they part, and Gladio’s hand comes up to cup Ignis’s cheek, his thumb wiping at the moisture under his eye.

“You all right?” he murmurs.

Ignis nods and turns back to the stove. The kitchenette smells like burnt potatoes. Wiping his arm on his sleeve, he moves the skillet off the burner. “Yes. Thank you.”

There’s a moment of silence before Gladio speaks again. “You don’t have to be strong for me. Cry all you want, Iggy,” he says. He places his hand on Ignis’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be here.”


End file.
